Metro Rapid

Overview

Metro Rapid Update

Timetables

An early study conducted by the City of Los Angeles on Metro bus service here in Los Angeles showed that half the time a bus is in service, it is stopped, either at a red traffic signal or at a bus stop to board and/or alight passengers. To help improve bus speeds, the Metro Rapid Demonstration Program was implemented along two key corridors in June 2000. With the implementation of a number of key attributes such as bus signal priority, low-floor buses, and fewer stops, passenger travel times were reduced by as much as 29 percent.

As a result, initial ridership increased by up to 40 percent, with one third of that ridership increase from new riders who had never used public transit. Following the successful implementation of the Metro Rapid Demonstration Program, an expansion program identifying over 20 additional corridors was developed. The Metro Rapid Program now operates within a network of nearly 400 miles of Metro Rapid service, while integrating light and heavy rail transit through Los Angeles County.

Metro Rapid has a number of key attributes that when implemented together, provides fast and frequent bus service. One of the key elements of the program is the bus signal priority system, collaboratively developed by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and Metro for use in the City of Los Angeles. Comprised of loops and radio transponders, the system can extend the green phase or shorten the red phase of traffic signals, therefore reducing the amount of bus delay at intersections. The system also provides real-time passenger information at each station.

The second bus signal priority system uses wireless technology and is used in areas outside the City of Los Angeles.

Key Metro Rapid Attributes:

Simple route layout: Makes the system easier to use and remember routes

Frequent service: Buses arrive as often as every 3-10 minutes during peak commute times

Fewer stops: Stops are spaced about ¾ mile apart, like rail lines, at most major transfer points

Level boarding/alighting: Low-floor buses speed-up dwell times

Bus priority at traffic signals: this technology reduces traffic delay at intersections by extending the green light or shortening the red light

Metro later combined Metro Rapid Lines 724 (San Fernando-Lankershim) and 794 (San Fernando South) from the Sylmar Metrolink Station to Downtown Los Angeles via San Fernando). The line has been renumbered Metro Rapid 794 in June 2009.

Pico Blvd. (Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus Rapid 7, August 2008)

South Sepulveda Blvd. (Culver City Bus Rapid Line 6, January 2010)

Venice Blvd. (Metro Rapid Line 733, June 2010)

For more information on Metro Rapid call 323.GO.METRO or, to download a timetable, click on Timetables.

Metro Rapid can speed you to your destination up to 23% faster than local bus service because:

Metro Rapid gets priority. Each bus has a special sensor that works to provide more green time at traffic lights. Less time waiting at red lights means fewer delays.

Metro Rapid is frequent. Buses come as often as every 3-10 minutes during peak hours.

Real-time Metro Rapid arrival times within the city of Los Angeles are now available on any web-enabled phone/PDA! Simply navigate to rapidbus.net on your mobile phone/PDA with web access and find out when the next Metro Rapid will arrive.

Will this work on my phone?

Any device with web access which is capable of displaying WML content should work. This includes most mobile phones as well as Treo, iphone and Blackberry PDAs.

Will I be charged for using this?

The only charges you will see are the regular fees you pay for accessing web pages through your phone.

What does it look like?

While the display will vary depending on the type of phone you have, the generic display is shown below.